


Twenty-Nine Is Gonna Be A Great Year

by heartsdesire456



Series: Max Two 'Verse [14]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Birthday, Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, Parenthood, Pets, Sneaky Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec's 29th year on earth starts out full of surprises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-Nine Is Gonna Be A Great Year

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to make this into two separate fics but I ended up thinking this would work really well as one fic about Alec's first few weeks after his 29th birthday being a sign of a good year to come.

“God, I can’t believe I’m _twenty-nine_ ,” Alec said, looking down at his menu.

Isabelle grinned. “I can’t believe you’re twenty-nine and not fat yet,” she joked.

Alec had off on his birthday, but since the kids were at school, he and Magnus decided to go have lunch with some friends. Jace and Isabelle had met Raphael and Ragnor at Taki’s to wait for Alec and Magnus to come after spending the morning together after they dropped the kids off at school. They had had breakfast and gone shopping and Alec let Magnus buy him new clothes for his birthday, because Alec secretly just loved how happy Magnus looked when he was doing things for Alec. Alec didn’t really care all that much about new clothes, but Magnus’s happiness while they shopped together was the only birthday present he really wanted.

Magnus smirked, turning to look at Alec’s face. “Oh trust me, Alexander is just as hard in all the right places as he was at twenty-two when I first met him,” he purred over-dramatically.

“Oh, we know,” Jace said harshly. He turned to Raphael. “Dude, be glad you’re not one of us, they randomly decided to do it in Alec’s office and it’s become a _thing_ ,” he said with a pained sound in his voice.

Alec shrugged uncaringly. “Actually our first kiss was almost in that office,” he said, and Magnus gave him a sappy look. “Isabelle ruined that one,” he said, throwing straw paper at her where she sat across from him.

She caught it and threw it back, throwing her arms up when it stuck in his hair. “Wooo!”

“Very mature, Izzy,” Alec grumbled, trying to brush the bits of paper out.

“Here, Darling,” Magnus said, reaching up to pick out the paper. He fixed Alec’s hair, fluffing it some and smile. “There you go.”

“Thanks, Babe,” Alec said in return. “Anyways, you don’t get to talk shit, I have seen you dragging boys into your room way more than I should have to. And that was when I lived there. God knows what sort of men you sneak into the Institute now,” he accused playfully.

“Currently, I’m sleeping with a Seelie, so none,” she said bluntly.

Ragnor wagged a finger. “You have to be careful with those Seelies. Pretty as hell but sneaky little shits.” He shook his head. “In Magnus’s four hundred years, he never dated a Seelie.”

She smirked. “We’re not dating, we’re just having sex,” she countered.

“That either,” Magnus clarified for her. “Mundanes and Downworlders were my fare before now.”

Raphael snorted. “Remember that boy you dated from the military academy in the eighties during your ‘punk’ phase?” he asked and Alec grinned, looking at Magnus.

“Wait, was that the one from the photo of you with a _mohawk_ sitting with this super uptight looking dude?” he asked with a laugh. “Oh my God, you were the weirdest couple ever.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “We were not a couple. We went out like three times. It just happened one of our dates was to somewhere with a photobooth.”

Jace raised an eyebrow. “You showed Alec photos of your exes?” he asked skeptically.

“Of course I did, Alexander knows about every former lover I can remember or that stood out in any way,” Magnus said. “And I know about all of his… oh wait,” he teased and Alec rolled his eyes at him.

“You’re rude,” he accused and Magnus just winked.

“Just telling the truth.” He turned back to Jace. “But of course Alec knows about my past. That’s what happens when you trust someone.”

Alec leaned back some with a smirk. “Yeah, Jace, cause that’s what happened when you’re married,” he said, tilting his head to Magnus playfully. “Right, Husband?”

Magnus held up his hand and Alec high-fived him. “Damn straight, Husband.”

Raphael looked at Ragnor. “You have known him longer than me. Has Magnus always been this obnoxious?”

“Absolutely,” Ragnor said snobbishly, making Magnus make a face at him.

Magnus turned back to Alec with a bright look in his eyes. “Just wait. Next year you turn thirty. I’m throwing a huge party, at Pandemonium, and we’re going to party like we’re twenty-one and childless.” Alec looked alarmed and Magnus patted his leg. “But this year, you get to be the boring dad of the group still.”

“I’m not a boring dad,” Alec accused. “You think half the reason I’m sexy is because I’m a good father.”

Magnus winked. “Nothing is hotter than you having magical dad instincts and catching things about to fall over on our children,” he said, thinking back to the other night when Max nearly pulled the coat rack over on his head, and Alec somehow knew what was going to happen and ran up the stairs from _outside_ the apartment and caught it before it could hit him. Magnus, who saw the whole thing from where he was just entering the room from the hall at the time, inexplicably got so turned on by Alec being a Super Dad that he climbed into the shower with Alec that night after the put the kids to bed and showed him exactly how much he liked it.

“I’m pretty sure that makes you a pervert,” Isabelle said simply, looking at Jace, who nodded in agreement. “Yeah, finding someone’s parenting sexually attractive is weird.”

“Not when your husband is the one being a good parent to your children,” Alec said, shaking his head. “Magnus can literally cook dinner while helping the kids with their homework all while on the phone with a client helping talk them through mixing a potion to cure their werewolf pattern hair loss,” he said seriously. “It’s insanely sexy.”

Magnus nodded with a grin. “I got laid that night, just saying.”

“I am so glad vampires don’t have children,” Raphael said to Ragnor, who scoffed.

“You’re glad? I’m absolutely delighted every time they remind me why I’m entirely happy alone.”

Jace huffed. “The most annoying part is that Mom is unhappy with Alec giving her grandchildren, she wants me to do it,” he said, glaring at Isabelle. “Why isn’t she on your ass about popping some out?”

“Because I’d have werewolf babies,” she said decisively. “I casually mentioned to Lydia while Mom was in the room that if I had to have any children, I’d sleep with a werewolf to get them.”

Raphael turned and frowned. “She still doesn’t accept your children as the ones to carry on the Lightwood name?” he asked Alec, who rolled his eyes.

“She says Rafael would be acceptable if his last name wasn’t hyphenated, but I’m not un-hyphenating my child’s name,” he said flatly. “My name is hyphenated. I’m not changing his name to Rafael Lightwood. Also, I’m not having her favor one of my children over the other. She can bite me,” he said bluntly, and Magnus nodded along with him.

“Their granddad is a pretty cool granddad though, so who cares,” he dismissed.

Ragnor shook his head. “How on earth are your parents still married?” 

“Pretty sure they never loved each other,” Isabelle replied. “They don’t live together anymore. They’re still ‘married’ and still live in the same house technically, but Dad basically stays at the Institute with us now. Max is moving here in a few weeks. So it will just be Mom in Idris. Divorce isn’t really welcome in Shadowhunter society,” she added.

Magnus nodded sagely. “Yes, exactly why I married one,” he said, turning to Alec. “You’re stuck with me even if you get tired of me.”

“Darn. I was going to divorce you when I turn thirty and marry James,” he joked, bumping his shoulders with Magnus’s.

Jace raised a hand. “Excuse me, but why are we talking about nothing but kids and marriage today?”

“Because,” Alec said with a petulant look on his face. “It’s my birthday so we get to talk about things I like and I like being married and having kids.”

Magnus sighed, looking up at Alec like he was the sun. “I love you so much, Alexander Lightwood-Bane,” he declared and Alec blushed but rolled his eyes, turning to peck his lips anyways.

Raphael mimed gagging. “Why did I ever agree to come here?”

“How did you _get_ here?” Jace asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “It’s the middle of the day. Shouldn’t you be in a coffin?”

Raphael glared. “Excuse you, I have a bed the size of half of this room with fifteen thousand dollars’ worth of expensive draperies, not some claustrophobic coffin. And to answer your question, there are tunnels under the city, you moron.” He nodded to the back of the restaurant. “The most popular Downworlder restaurant in the city is obviously connected to them.”

“Huh,” Jace hummed, looking actually interested. “You learn new things every day.”

~

After lunch with friends and some quality alone time with his husband since the kids were at school so there was no need to use a silencing spell on their room for once, Alec went for a run while Magnus decided to sort through the kids clothes. Housework was usually more of Alec’s thing, but Alec could barely be trusted with knowing his own clothes were too worn out to wear, so Magnus wasn’t trusting him with the kids’ clothes. 

He first went to Rafael’s room and was amused to see how neat his closet was. He was nine now, so he was getting into that phase where he wanted to do things his way in his room, so for the most part, Magnus and Alec just brought him his laundry and let him do what he wanted with it, since it was his closet. Magnus had expected a disaster zone, being a nine year old boy, but instead his closet was very neat and organized. “Awww, Rafa,” he murmured to himself with a smile. “You take after your dad, little mister.”

He sorted through Rafael’s things and found that, for the most part, he didn’t have any clothes that had holes or old stains. Rafael was a very neat child. Magnus was pretty sure that, even if he wasn’t raised as one, the Shadowhunter was in his blood. Even Alec’s sister was a pretty neat and organized woman. Even when he picked up the things in the floor of the closet, they were things that had fallen off of hangers, not stuff Rafael had tossed in the closet.

He was a bit confused when he found a little cat toy, a ball with a bell in it, in his closet, but knowing Chairman Meow, he probably liked sleeping in there and wanted a toy on hand. Chairman Meow was a very odd cat, sometimes.

When he finished up in Rafael’s room, he went to Max’s room, and where Rafael was neat, Max was one hundred percent the opposite of his brother. Max’s closet only had clothes in it because Alec and Magnus still hung his clothes for him and put them in the dresser for him. Everything he owned was on the floor, it seemed. Magnus couldn’t say much, because his office was what he liked to call ‘organized chaos’ and his and Alec’s room only stayed so neat because he had magical powers and a husband who liked things neat and tidy. Magnus knew he was far too lazy to clean by hand, so he couldn’t really fault Max for being the same when he was a seven year old boy.

When he opened his closet door, however, it was _not_ the clothes that caught his attention.

“Meow?”

Magnus stared down at the floor of Max’s closet and was actually stunned speechless by the _kitten_ that had been sleeping on a pile of underwear ( _Oh Max_ ) and was now looking up at him. He looked to the left of the little fluffy orange kitten and huffed when he saw a teacup with water in it and a saucer with cat food on it. He _had_ thought some of Chairman Meow’s food was missing, but he hadn’t thought about it until just now, as he stared down at the _secret kitten_ in his son’s closet.

The little kitten stood up from its pile of clothes and walked over, in that wobbly little way kittens had, and climbed right onto Magnus’s toes, meowing excitedly as it tried to climb his pants. “Hey, no,” he said, leaning down to pick the little thing up. He picked it up, holding it up to his face, only for it to meow again in that tiny, adorable little voice and reach out to tap him on the nose with its little paw. Magnus melted a little. “Awww, I’m supposed to be mad, but look at youuuu,” he cooed. He walked back to Max’s bed and sat on it, holding the little kitten on his lap. “Who are you baby… boy? Girl?” he asked, taking a look. “Boy, huh.” He chuckled. “We’re a house full of men, aren’t we?” he said to the little baby boy. “Where on earth did you come from?” 

Of course, the kitten didn’t respond, since he was, in fact, a kitten, and he instead just crawled all over Magnus’s lap, falling off his knee and landing on the bed with a little bounce. Magnus smiled as he stood up and turned around, looking up at Magnus with another little, tiny, adorable meow. Magnus leaned down, smiling as the kitten stretched its neck and licked Magnus right on the nose. Magnus laughed, pulling away, and scooped the kitten up. “Awwww, I love you, Baby,” he cooed, hugging the teeny baby to his chest. “Yes, I sure do,” he promised, petting his head with one finger. The little kitten burrowed into his shirt and started purring and Magnus’s heart absolutely melted. “I should be way madder than I am, and those boys will definitely be in trouble, but oh, you are so precious, little boy,” he whispered, kissing his little head. 

He thought about Alec’s reaction and winced. “Your other daddy is going to be really, really angry at me when I tell him we’re keeping you no matter what,” he informed him. He fell back on the bed and sighed when the kitten fell asleep curled up under his hand. “Oh man, I’m a terrible parent.”

~

When Alec got back from his run, Magnus was waiting on the couch with the kitten in his lap. Alec walked in, passing him to go get a bottle of water from the kitchen, only to stop in his tracks and turn back, looking down at the kitten in confusion. Magnus fixed a bright smile on his face to hide his guilt. “Hey Alec, guess what! Happy Birthday! We’ve got a new kitten. The kids did it, I found him hidden in Max’s closet, blame them, not me,” he said in a rush.

Alec stared blankly and then rolled his eyes with a slow sigh. “You found a kitten. That they boys hid from us. And you decided we’re just going to keep him?”

Magnus gave him a wide-eyed look. “But Alexander, look at him!” He held the kitten up, so his big, blue eyes were on Alec. “He’s the sweetest little baby,” he cooed, pulling the kitten back to his chest. “Awwww, he’s so precious. And look!” He held him out again, towards where Chairman Meow sat on the coffee table. Chairman Meow just looked at the kitten and then licked his head. “See! Chairman Meow likes him!” he said excitedly. “I can’t wait until the boys get home so I can ask them what his name is!” he said, bouncing in his seat as he cuddled the baby kitten again. “I love him, Alexander,” he said in gentle, affectionate tone as he looked down at the kitten in his hands.

Alec clearly knew he wasn’t going to win this one, so he just let his shoulders slump. “Okay, but the boys are still in big trouble. You will not fold on that one. You better not make me the bad guy when it comes to punishing them for _hiding a kitten_ from us,” he said firmly.

“Of course, Darling,” Magnus said with a bright smile. “We’ll ground them until they’re thirty.” He held up the kitten. “Now some say hello to our new baby!”

Alec chuckled but walked over. “You are so lucky I love you,” he teased as he flopped down on the couch, holding out a hand for the kitten. Magnus handed him over, sitting the tiny thing right on Alec’s hand, and Alec’s heart melted just a little at how small the kitten was. “Okay… maybe I get it a little,” he muttered and Magnus beamed, nodding.

“Of course you do.”

~

(The boys ended up being grounded for _three weeks_ after revealing that they had been hiding Captain Whiskers – Max was still in his pirate phase – for an entire week after they saw him cold, alone, and crying beside the garbage can in the alley below the terrace and _climbed down the fire escape_ to get him without Magnus or Alec seeing him.)

~

“Dad! Dad!” Alec looked up from where he and James were bent over a map with Luke Garroway standing beside them and smiled when he saw Max running down the hall. “Dad!” he said excitedly as he jumped up the little step up and slammed into Alec’s legs.

Alec smiled, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. “Hey, Blueberry.”

Max looked over the edge of the table and waved at Luke. “Hey, Luke!”

Luke chuckled. “Hey, Buddy.” He looked back up the hall. “Where’s your brother?”

“He’s comin’,” Max said, trying to look at the map.

Alec picked him up and sat him on the table so he could see better. “Where’s Papa?” 

Max looked at the map of the city with wide eyes. “He’s comin’, too.” He pointed at a green area. “Is that the park?” he asked, looking up at Luke.

Luke nodded. “Yep, Central Park.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “That’s where the Seelies meet with other Downworlders. Your dad and I are looking at getting some help from the Seelies with something.”

“Coooool,” Max said, leaning over further. He pointed to the map. “Is that the big bridge we cross to go home?” he asked, looking up at Alec.

Alec pointed to the other one. “That’s the one we usually take,” he corrected.

The sound of feet on stone caught their attention and Alec raised an eyebrow as Rafael came running without shoes on, holding his sneakers in his hands. “Rafi, what happened to your shoes?” Max asked, and Rafael rolled his eyes, dropping the shoes with an angry huff before he flopped into the chair over at the computer.

“Maryse said I was tracking mud,” he said and Alec winced. It was always disheartening to hear his children call his mother by her first name when they gladly called his father Granddad. Alec hated being reminded that his mother basically had no relationship with him anymore and would never likely have one with her grandchildren. 

“Sorry, Rafe,” Alec said sadly. “She’ll be gone soon enough. She’s only here to bring Max One and help him settle in.” Both boys lit up at that news, just as he knew they would. Rafael and Max loved their uncle. Max had loved Max Two since Alec first decided to keep him. Alec could still remember the relief on his baby brother’s face when he realized Alec was going to be Max’s dad instead of give him away. Max One had a big heart even as a little boy. It was hard to believe that Rafael was the same age now that Max One was when Max Two was born. 

Luke chuckled. “Max One?” he asked, and Max beamed over at him.

“My Uncle Max, he’s got the same name as me, and we call him Max One and I’m Max Two!” he said excitedly.

Alec grinned sheepishly. “It started when he was a baby. Back then, they both were just Max Lightwood. So the last names weren’t a way to differentiate yet. Even after he learned to call him Uncle Max, it just stuck. Usually they just call him Max One when he’s around.”

“He’s so cool!” Rafael said excitedly. “He reads cool comic books and he got me Captain America on DVD for my birthday!”

Max nodded eagerly. “Max One is the coolest ever! Even cooler than Papa, and Papa’s super cool!”

Alec rolled his eyes. “Your papa is not cool,” he teased. “Papa is a giant dork, he just hides it behind being pretty. He’s just as big of a nerd as Max One is, he’s just so beautiful people don’t notice.”

“Well nice to know what you really think of me, Alexander.” Alec blushed as he spun and saw Magnus standing right behind him. Luke laughed and Magnus wiggled his fingers at him. “Hey, Luke.” He punched Alec in the shoulder playfully. “Don’t go around telling people I’m a dork,” he said with a grin. “Although, the way you just toss out ‘oh he’s so beautiful’ like it’s just a fact is absolutely welcome.”

Alec rolled his eyes, ears still red. “It is just a fact. Doesn’t mean you’re not a total dork.” He nodded to the boys. “Not that I don’t love a visit, what’s with the trip to the Institute?”

Magnus hummed, biting back words that Alec could read in his eyes. “As much as I love your mother berating my childrens’ existence, I received a message from the Silent Brothers in Spain. The ones who raised me are mostly still around, actually,” he commented. “They want a favor. I’m not sure what yet, but whenever they ask for me, they usually have something related to Downworlders they don’t trust Idris with. Probably have some questions that Alicante can’t answer or something.”

Alec frowned. “You sure it’s safe?” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” Magnus said with a warm smile. “Of all the Nephilim, I trust Silent Brothers most of all,” he added with a wink towards Luke. He figured Luke knew well enough what he meant. “I just need to go urgently and I wasn’t about to leave our children alone at the house when they will inevitably go find _another_ stray animal to hide,” he said with a stern look their way.

Alec rolled his eyes at how completely without shame the children were about the whole incident. They took their punishment with a nonchalance that said they didn’t care what they did wrong if it meant they had Captain Whiskers. They were far too like Alec and even he knew that they got it from him. “Alright. Just let me know how long you’ll be once you get there,” he said, and Magnus nodded, brushing his hand across Alec’s back.

“Yes, Darling,” he said, then turned to the boys. “Be good for your dad, you two,” he said, blowing kisses at both of them before he turned and walked over to the wall, opening a portal with just a flick of his wrist. He waved at them one more time before stepping through.

Luke watched him go and the portal close with a blink and chuckled. “I thought you couldn’t portal from inside an Institute.”

Alec grinned. “Magnus did the wards here. Also, he is the most powerful Warlock that we know of. I doubt anti-warlock wards would stop him if it was really important.”

“I can’t wait until I’m as strong as Papa,” Max said suddenly, making Luke smile down at him.

“Oh yeah? You’re gonna be as strong as your papa and as big as your dad?” he asked.

Max looked up at Alec and sighed. “Probably not,” he said with a shake of his head. “Dad ate too many vegetables when he was little. He’s a giant.”

Alec leaned over and kissed his head, ignoring the way Max squirmed away from his kisses. “There’s nothing wrong with being little. Just ask Luke. His daughter is barely bigger than _Rafael_ and she’s a grownup,” he said with a dramatic tone.

Luke always rolled his eyes when Alec called Clary his daughter but Alec and Magnus were adamant about Luke being her dad more than anything else and he knew that it made Luke feel good to hear it. “Yeah, and she’s not afraid of anybody, even if she’s a shrimp.”

Max shrugged. “I’m the smallest kid in my class, but it’s okay. I have magic!” he said, throwing out his hands and making little sparkles fly from his fingers. Alec grinned at how ‘Magnus’ of a move it was. As always, Rafael looked so proud of his brother when he did magic.

“Magic is way cooler than being big,” Rafael said encouragingly.

Alec chuckled. “Alright, how about you guys go find Uncle Jace while Luke and I finish work, okay? I’ll come get you when I’m done. Just _stay away_ from the armory,” he said, glaring at Rafael. “If you try to sneak a spare stele one more time, you won’t be grounded for two more weeks, you’ll be grounded _for another month_ ,” he threatened. 

Rafael pouted but nodded, taking Max’s hand as Max slid off the table. “Come on, let’s go to Uncle Jace,” he said, sounding resigned. Alec knew damn well he had just averted Rafael trying to learn to use a stele on his own again.

Luke smiled. “Kids, huh?”

“I cannot _wait_ until my siblings have kids,” Alec said smugly. “I’ll gloat at them coming to me for help. Forever.”

~

While most Silent Brothers did reside in the Silent City, because of their similarity to monks, there were often sects of Silent Brothers living in religious establishments that served as entrances to the Silent City, which was exactly where Magnus found himself when he exited the portal. It felt oddly comforting to recognize the stone archways on either side of him. He had grown up at a monastery ran by both mundane monks with Sight and the Silent Brothers. 

_Magnus Bane_ , a voice greeted, and he turned to see Brother Antony approaching him. _It has been many years since your last visit_.

Magnus smiled. “Brother Antony. I must confess, I have been very busy.” They fell into step (as much as one could with a Silent Brother) and Magnus waved a hand. “You would never guess it, but I’m actually married with children these days.”

 _Your marriage to Alexander Lightwood-Bane is quite well known, even if you would not think it,_ Brother Antony informed him, and Magnus perked up.

“Well now. Is Alexander really such gossip in Alicante that it’s reached the Silent City?” he asked curiously.

Brother Antony turned and Magnus followed quickly. _Inquisitor Lightwood being the mother of the Shadowhunter who married a Downworlder is a point of contention in Idris._

Magnus preened. “Yes, well, times are a-changing, after all.” When Brother Antony led him down a narrower hallway, Magnus frowned, trying to remember. “Forgive my memory, but isn’t this a residential wing? For the monks?”

 _The reason we called you so urgently is actually related to us knowing of your marriage to the head in all but name of the New York Institute_ , Brother Antony supplied, surprising Magnus. _You will see in a moment_ , was all he said before they entered on of the monks’ chambers.

Magnus saw a _crib_ in the corner and he gasped as he walked towards it. “What’s this?” he asked, walking over to the edge. He looked down and his heart twisted sharply at the sight of two very small infants lying side by side, their little hands hooked together between them. “Are they Mundane?” he asked, seeing no visible warlock marks on their dark brown skin.

 _These are werewolf infants._ Magnus whipped his head around to look at Brother Antony in shock. _We are not capable of caring for werewolf infants. They require more knowledge than we possess about the traits of a werewolf. The werewolf pack in New York is known to be very stable._

Magnus hummed, looking down at their little faces. “What about their pack? What happened to them?”

_Their pack was breaking the Accords and murdering Mundanes. They had to be dealt with._

Magnus’s gut clenched and he looked at the babies sadly. “Be honest with me. Were they really breaking the Accords?”

Brother Antony moved closer. _I am aware of the prejudices of Shadowhunters and we made sure of the packs guilt before allowing anything to be done. The fact you know Nephilim who have better respect for Downworlders is the main reason we decided to trust you with this._

Magnus nodded. “I’m just so surprised that they were taken in if their pack was…. Dealt with.”

 _Werewolf or not, the sins of the pack are not the sins of innocent children._ Magnus smiled, reminded that these Silent Brothers may have once been Shadowhunters, but they had more wisdom from age than any Nephilim Magnus had met before. _You have children who are both warlock and Nephilim so we felt you could be trusted to take these infants to the New York pack to try and seek asylum for them._

Magnus continued to stare down at the babies. “Of course I will. Anything to help these poor things.” He looked up and nodded seriously. “Thank you for finding someone who could be trusted to try and seek asylum for them. I know Alexander’s stories of how Shadowhunters were afraid to even touch our warlock son as an infant. I would hate to see the mistreatment these poor, precious werewolf babies would face.” 

One of the babies woke up and looked up at him with wide, dark eyes and instantly his heart thudded painfully at the thought that such a sweet, innocent baby could be mistreated by anyone. He reached down and stroked a finger over the baby’s head. “Do you know their names? So that I can tell the local alpha?”

_We have their birth certificates._

Magnus smiled up at Brother Antony. “Excellent.”

~

Alec had been surprised when Luke got a call from Magnus and, moments later, offered to take Max and Rafael home when he went to go meet with Magnus about something. Alec had expected him to be gone for more than just a few hours. Since he and Luke were finishing up and he had a few hours left before he could go home, he had no problem letting Luke take the boys home so they weren’t bored.

In the short time he had known Luke and Jocelyn, Luke had become a valuable contact in the Downworld, and more than that, he and his family had become pretty good friends. Clary had even babysat the kids for them one night when there were parent-teacher conferences at their school. People thought he was crazy for trusting a werewolf he had only known a short while with his children, but Alec had never hid the fact that he did _not_ trust most Shadowhunters around Max. Even out of all the people he trusted at the Institute, there were some he did not at all trust with him, even after all this time.

When he got home, he was greeted by the very suspicious sight of Magnus sitting on the couch in the quiet living room, not doing much of anything. He was clearly waiting on Alec to get home. “Magnus…” He trailed off suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. “What’s going on, Babe?”

Magnus patted the couch beside him. “Alexander, Darling, come sit for a moment. I have some news.”

Alec took off his jacket and boots, and as he started towards Magnus, he heard the boys laugh and Rafael call, “Papa! She did that cute thing with her nose again!”

Alec stopped. “Oh no,” he said suddenly. “No, no, no, you did _not_ bring home another kitten!” he said in annoyance, narrowing his eyes at Magnus.

Magnus shook his head. “No, of course not, Darling. No more kittens.”

“Thank the Angel,” Alec replied, flopping down beside him with a sign. 

“It’s two more children. Babies. Twin werewolf girls,” Magnus said in a rush. “Their names are Iman and Jamila, they’re four months old. I love you!” Magnus finished with wide puppy eyes turned on Alec.

Alec stared in shock for a moment before standing up. “Children?! Magnus, did you actually bring home _babies_?! Magnus, you can’t just bring home _babies_ , they aren’t like kittens!” he cried as he started pacing and Magnus rolled his eyes.

“I know that, Alec,” he said in a clipped tone. 

“Oh, so I guess the kids are to blame for this one, too?” Alec asked, and Magnus gave him a serious, stern look.

“Alec, this is not the time to be a smartass-“

“YOU BROUGHT HOME BABIES!” Alec shouted, too stunned to even think straight. “You brought _twins_ home with you from- from- wherever! You can’t just _adopt_ children without even telling me first!”

Magnus stood up. “Oh whatever, you love children, and I didn’t just decide to bring them home willy-nilly!” he argued, walking over to step in the way of Alec’s pacing. “They were recently orphaned because their parents were murderers and Alicante brought down the might of an entire Institute on them, they only left the children alive because those two were innocent infants, not murderers like the rest of their pack. I brought them to New York to try and negotiate asylum with Luke’s pack, but when he got here with the boys, we sat down to talk, he told me straight up that they don’t have anybody in a position to take them in, Alec,” he said firmly. “They don’t have many couples, the two couples there are don’t have the money to afford two infants in their lives, none of the single people have the time or home or desire to take them, and Luke and Jocelyn struggled hard just to raise one daughter. Luke has the only real income, they don’t have savings since they paid for Clary’s college, and they don’t even live together – those morons – so they can’t care for them the right way.”

Alec’s initial shock and confusion started to fade some. “Oh.”

Magnus rolled his eyes affectionately. “Yes, ‘oh’.” He chuckled. “Alec. I did not just decide to bring home babies and go ‘here, what’s a couple more?’,” he said, stepping closer to Alec. He reached up and rested his hands on Alec’s chest as he looked him in the eyes. “But, currently, there is no real viable option besides adopting them ourselves. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to sit down and really discuss whether or not you want to or think we can do this.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what else to do, but if you genuinely think we can’t handle this, I’ll find something. Hell, I’ll give one to Catarina and one to Ragnor and force them to take them in-“

“You can’t split them up, that’s horrible,” Alec said suddenly, looking startled at the suggestion. “They’re sisters! That would be like sending Rafael to one home and Max to another.”

Magnus nodded. “But, if it has to be done, we can sort it out.” He tugged Alec back over to the couch. “They’re asleep so I left Rafael and Max watching them under strict instructions not to touch them and to come running if they wake up,” he explained. “You and I need to talk, Alexander.”

Alec, far calmer now, sat down beside Magnus and nodded, pulling Magnus’s hand into his lap. “Alright, let’s talk about this.”

~

Robert smiled as he looked down at the baby in Alec’s arms. “Man, I forget how tiny they are this little.”

Alec chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sort of terrified of handling them with my giant, clumsy hands. Max was older when I found him,” he said, stroking the baby’s hair oh so gently. “God, I never thought I’d be doing this again at twenty-nine.”

“Don’t worry,” Robert said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I was older than you when Max was born. You’re totally fine.”

Magnus came over with another baby and held her up to Robert. “Want to hold Jamila?” he asked, then tilted his head. “I think this is Jamila, at least,” he said, frowning.

Alec rolled his eyes. “Yes, that’s Jamila. How can you not tell them apart yet?” he demanded, stepping closer to hold Iman beside Jamila.

Magnus looked down at their identical faces, right down to the way the skin of their lips was slightly darker than the already dark skin of their faces, and then looked up at Alec. “Alec, they are exactly the same. I’m seriously guessing here. I have no idea how you see anything I don’t.”

Alec touched Iman’s little nose. “Her nose is slightly rounder at the end, Jamila’s left ear is slightly higher than her right, and Jamila’s eyelashes are longer.”

Magnus looked at the girls side by side and looked up at Robert. “Yeah, I don’t see it. You?”

Robert shrugged. “No, but if Alec says there’s a difference, I guess we should just trust him.”

“My daughters look different,” Alec said firmly, though Magnus could see the amusement in his eyes.

Magnus went back to handing Jamila over to Robert, who cooed when she looked up at him with big, wide eyes. Magnus reached out to brush a finger over the little tuft of hair on her head, smiling as she looked around at her sister in Alec’s arms and cooed before turning back to Robert. “Look how strong her upper body already is,” Magnus said softly, reaching out to touch her back. “Werewolf children are usually pretty strong, but I didn’t expect them to be barely four months old and she’s almost strong enough to sit up.”

“She just lacks the balance,” Alec said, shifting Iman to hold her the same way. “See? They both are pretty strong. My big girls,” he said, kissing Iman’s cheek. She squealed at him, reaching out to grab his lips, making him laugh as he tried to pull away. “Yes, that’s daddy’s mouth,” he said with a little grin. He pretended to bite her fingers and she squealed again, flapping her hands against his chest.

Robert looked at Alec and then over at Magnus, who was positively glowing as he watched Alec with her. “So. How many are you two going to end up with, you think?” he asked teasingly. 

Alec chuckled. “We didn’t really plan on these two, Dad.”

“At least one more,” Magnus said confidently, making Alec give him a surprised look. “What? You love babies, don’t even play like that,” he said simply. “We have two boys and two girls now. We need one more to break the tie. It’s only fair.”

“Ha, yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Alec said, looking at Iman. “Your papa is crazy. We are not adopting more children after you two. You guys are the best surprise ever, but you are a surprise.”

Magnus looked at Robert and nodded sagely. “He’ll want more by the time these two are three. Mark my words.”

“I heard that,” Alec called, and Magnus just grinned.

“I know you did, Darling,” he said simply, then held his hands out again. “Okay, okay, Granddad had his turn, gimme back my baby,” he said, and Robert laughed and handed Jamila back to Magnus, who cuddled her close, making faces at her. “Go play with Iman some so I can swap with Alexander and get my other baby.”

“Max demands the next turn,” Alec reminded him. “He and Rafael don’t like sharing their sisters,” he informed his father, and Robert grinned.

“You were the same way. May have only been two when Isabelle was born, but I swear, you wouldn’t leave the room as long as she was in it.” Alec blushed and Magnus gave him a warm smile.

“I fully believe that one, Robert,” he said, eyes never leaving Alec’s face. “Alec was a natural born nurturer.” He looked down at Jamila, bouncing her some. “And you and your brothers and sister get to eat up all that nurturing attention. Yes you do,” he said, poking her on the tip of the nose to make her giggle and grab at his hand. He leaned down to give her a kiss and smiled. “Don’t tell Daddy, but I love you more than him,” he fake-whispered, and Alec chuckled.

“You better,” he said simply, before letting his father take Iman to hold her for a while, hovering beside him the entire time.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this sorta feels like an ending BUT IT IS NOT THE END! I SWEAR! THERE IS MORE!


End file.
